My Lily
by Kartoonkid95
Summary: Lincoln and Lily have always had a tight bond with one another. But can Lincoln accept that his baby sister might not be a baby much longer?
1. Chapter 1

"Ah, Sundays. A time of the week where the Loud House isn't so loud. Most of us take the time to laze around, sleep in, and just do _nothing_. But not me, because Sunday is the one day of the week where it's just me...and Lily."

* * *

Lincoln looked into Lily's crib, where its occupant was sleeping soundly. he whispered her name into the crib to wake her up. After a few tries, she yawned, rubbed her eyes, and looked up at her big brother above her.

"Good morning, Lily! Are you ready for our special day?"

The baby smiled and squeed in delight. Lincoln lifted her out of her crib, and the fun started immediately.

"Time for liftoff!"

Lincoln made rocket blast noises and he ran around carrying Lily love his head. He ran through the halls as Lily partook in the illusion of flight. When they made it to the starway, Lincoln sat down and placed his baby sister by his chest.

"Hold on, Lily! He we go!"

With a push, Lincoln bounced down the steps on his butt, with his and Lily's shouts being rendered staccato as he did. When they reached the bottom, the rocket trip resumed until they made it to the kitchen. At that point, Lincoln sat Lily down in her high chair and got some special pudding from teh fridge.

"Here you go, Lily! Rainbow pudding, made especially for you."

Lily giggled at her unusual pudding, and it made her all the more eager to eat it. Lincoln managed to successfully feed her the tapioca mixed with food coloring, and he then proceeded to pat Lily on the back until she made a big burp.

"Ooh, that was a big one. Good job!"

And with that, the two siblings continued their special day together. They played peek-a-boo, they played horsey, and they made things out of wooden blocks. They then made their way to the couch to watch Blarney the Dinosaur sing and dance and just stand around. Just then, Lori entered, texting on her phone as usual.

"Lincoln, are you actually _enjoying_ this dreck?"

"Hey, this show is for Lily. And if she likes it, then I like it. Isn't that right, Lily?"

Lily clapped her hands and giggled at the green dinosaur's antics, and Lincoln took that as a yes.

"Well, you might not like it for long. Lily's going to grow up eventually, and there'll be nothing you can do about it."

Lori walked back upstairs. Lincoln brushed off her comments as teenage cynicism. In his mind, Lily will always be his baby sister. His thoughts of the matter soon disappeared when a familiar foul stench reached his nostrils.

"OCK! LILY!"

"Poo-poo!"

"Time for a changing!"

Lincoln carried his baby sister to her room. He put her down, took out the toxic-smelling diaper, and threw it into the nearby genie.

"There," Lincoln said as he wiped Lily's butt, "all clean!"

Lily giggled as the wipe tickled her rump. Lincoln took notice and began to play along.

"Who's got a bubble butt? Who's got a little baby bubble butt? You do! YOU do!"

He pinched her buttcheeks to her amusement, and he then turned Lily around to get a good loom at her belly.

"Who wants a raspberry? Would you like a raspberry?"

Without giving Lily a chance to respond, Lincoln pressed his lips against her stomach and blew a big blow on it. She squealed around in a fit of ticklish delight, indicating that her answer would have been yes had she been given the time to answer. After a few more blows, the baby soon began to tire of the tickles, and she yawned a big yawn.

Seeing her tire, Lily put a fresh diaper on Lily and gently place her into her crib. He climbed in to to accompany her. This was the part of the day he liked most: for them to cuddle with each other for an noontime nap. Before both drifted off into Dreamland, Lincoln whispered something to his baby sister.

"Lily? Do you know what I like best about you? Nothing ever seems to bother you. You just walk into the chaos of this house, and you go through it with a smile. You know, I can't wait for you to say 'I love you,' because then I can say...I love you, too."

And with that, they fell asleep. It was another successful Lincoln-Lily Sunday, just like the last Sunday and the Sunday before.

Next Sunday, though, things would be a little different.


	2. Chapter 2

The next Sunday, Lincoln got up bright and early to partake in his weekly ritual of spending fun time with his youngest sister. He snuck into her and Lisa's room, and he whispered.

"Psst! Lily!"

He crept through the doorway, preparing to surprise her waking eyes with his presence. Bit when he looked in the crib, he saw...nothing?

"Lily?" he gasped. "Lily?! Lily where are you?!"

As Lincoln shuffled through the covers and sheets inside the crib, Lisa was awakened by his desperate shouts.

"Lincoln," Lisa said as she yawned and stretched, "w-what's going on?"

"I came to wake Lily and take her flying on our special day, but she's gone!"

He started looking throughout the room for Lily; under tables, under Lisa's bed, even in the stinky diaper genie. But Lincoln's efforts were fruitless, and he soon began to panic.

"LILY, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Suddenly, while putting his ear on the floor, he heard a familiar giggling come from the kitchen.

"Lily!"

Lincoln raced down the stars with rapid speed until he reached the kitchen. His eyes met the sight of Lily, secured by her high chair, being fed a lightly-toasted piece of toast by Luna.

"Okay, chew it up, Lily."

"Luna, are you insane?! Lily can't chew anything yet!"

Just then, he heard a crunching sound. He looked, and he saw that Lily was, in fact, learning to chew solid food. It seemed that her teeth are coming in fast enough for her to clench them together.

"Lily", Lincoln said in disbelief, "you can eat solid food!"

"Ain't it amazing, little bro. Our baby sis is growing up."

"But...Lily! She has to fly!"

As Lily swallowed her toast, Lincoln lifted her out of her high chair and tried to carry her over his head. But, for some reason, she seemed heavier than usual. He tried all he could to lift both his hands above his head, but Lily weight them down.

"Whew! Man, you're getting heavy."

Soon, Lincoln couldn't take it anymore, and he put Lily on the floor. Suddenly, a familiar stanch reached his nostrils.

"ACK! Looks like your diaper change came early today. Let's get you changed."

As Lincoln couched down to carry Lily up the stairs, she started walking on her own.

"Lily, wait! You can't climb up the stairs yet! I have to carry you!"

But when Lily got to the stairs, Lily began to grab and climb each step with a sense of adventure. When Lincoln got there, he couldn't believe his eyes. At the top of the stairs was Lynn, who was cheering Lily on as she reached the final steps.

"YAAAHOOO! You did it, Lily! You made it all the way up!"

She then sniffed the stench coming from Lily's diaper, and she took her into her room to change her. Lincoln was outraged; it was _his_ job to change Lily on Sunday. He hastily made his way up and banged on the door to Lily and Lisa's room.

"Lynn, open up! I want to change Lily! I need to pinch her baby bubble butt!"

Just then, a familiar voice exclaimed, "What did you say?"

Lincoln jumped up in fright. It was Lucy.

"You want to touch Lily's butt?"

"B-B-But in a cute way. She likes it!"

The door then opened, and Lynn put Lily down.

"There we are, good as new."

Lincoln looked down, and he gasped again. Lily was clothed! Usually reserved for family outings, Lily was dolled up in a lavender t-shirt and tiny jeans.

"Lily, w-why are you'd dressed! You like to go naked!"

Lincoln tugged on Lily's shirt in an attempt to pull it off, but Lily grabbed his arm and made an angry "Bah" of refusal. As she walked toward the stairway and climbed down the individual steps, Lincoln was beginning to get stressed out from seeing things he ever thought would be.

"What's going on here? Lily can chew, she can climb the stairs, she likes her clothes! Wait, there's still time for Blarney!"

With a silver of hope in his chest, Lincoln made his way downstairs to the living room to turn on Blarney the Dinosaur. But when he got there, it wasn't the picture he had hoped. On the couch were Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, the twins and Lisa watching furry puppets on TV, not an Irish dinosaur. On their laps was Lily, clapping at their antics.

"What's this?!"

" _Poppyseed Avenue_ ," Lori answered. "Lily's brain needs to be stimulated by actual lessons."

"And music," Luna added.

"And comedy," Luan added.

"And fuzzy monsters," Leni also added. "Isn't that right, Lily?" She then lifted up Lily's shirt, pressed her lips on her stomach, and blew hard to produce and fart sound, making the baby squeal like crazy.

This was the last straw for Lincoln. Blowing raspberries was _his_ job. He shouted and snatched Lily from Leni's hands.

"THAT'S IT! Nobody touches Lily, but ME!"

Suddenly, Lily began to cry.

"Oh no. What's wrong Lily? You need a diaper change? You hungry? You sleepy?"

"I think she wants you to put her down and be with us," Lori coldly said to her brother.

"N-No, she doesn't. She loves _me_. She wants to spend all her time with me!"

"Well," Luna said, "why don't you let _her_ decide who she wants to be with."

"Alright, I will!"

Lincoln piut Lily down, and she began to calm down. He went down on his knees, and he badgered Lily to come to him.

"Okay, Lily. Come to me, Lily. Come to big brother!"

Lily turned and began to walk toward her sisters. Lincoln's cutesy cried began to turn desperate.

"N-No, Lily. Wrong way, Lily! Turn around Lily! Come to me, not them!"

But his pleading fell on deaf ears. Lily hugged her sisters, and she giggled once more. Lincoln felt something in his chest break. How could Lily turn her back on him. For two and a half years, he's always been there for her. He was practically her best friend. But now, Lily was bouncing around in front of the TV, imitating a ballerina on the Poppyseed show, while most of his sisters cheered her on and chuckled at her pratfalls. And perhaps most shocking of all was that she was _happy_...without him.

After ten minutes of staring at the sight, Lily feel sleepy, and Luan took her upstairs for her nap. He watched, Luna patted him on the back to give him her sympathies.

"Don't take it so hard, bro. You can probably play with her when she wakes up."

"Yeah," Leni added, "you still got the whole rest of the day."

Lincoln felt a little better after that. After a little nap, he could still talk to Lily and maybe play a few games. Maybe this day won't be a total bust after all.

* * *

He spent hour and a half eagerly waiting for Lily to wake up. After a seemingly endless period of time, he hears giggling. He smiled wide and raced toward her crib. But this turn out to be a severe case of déjà vu, because when he got there, the crib was empty. Lincoln gasped, and he made his way downstairs to look for her. When he got down, he was his parents carrying lily toward the front door.

"MOM?! DAD?! W-What are you doing with Lily?!"

"Oh," Mom answered. "we're going to have a little day out.

Dad explained the day's itinerary. "She's going to get her first haircut, then we're go shopping for some new clothes, and Lily's going to a little playdate to make new baby friends while we have lunch. Isn't that exciting? She's growing up!"

Lincoln spoke only in a tiny squeak. "...What?"

"Goodbye, Lincoln," his mother said, "we'll be back at five. Lori's in charge. Say bye-bye, Lily."

"Bah-bah," Lily said as she waved her arm at her brother. And with that, the three made their way outside and shut the door.

She was gone. Whatever was broken in Lincoln's chest completely shattered. His jaw drawn to the floor, he words of his eldest sister echoed through his mind.

"Lily's going to grow up eventually, and there'll be nothing you can do about it."

After a few minutes, his eyes began to well, and he stumbled as he walked upstairs to his room to cry. He never thought he'd feel this way.

Never again.


	3. Chapter 3

After a mostly quiet afternoon in the Loud House, a screechy scream erupted from the twins' bedroom.

"SOMEBODY RIPPED UP MY DOLLS!"

The girls raced to their room to see that was the matter. What they saw was chocking. Lola was standing amidst her dollies, all ripped up and robbed of their stuffing.

Lana was busy comforting her twin, and she snarled, "Whoever did this is gonna PAY"

Just then, Leni was heard screaming from her and Lori's room. She ran out of the room in a panic.

"Guys! Guys! Somebody stole my sewing kit!"

"Wow," Luna said. " this is getting crazy. Who could have...?"

But their trains of thought were interrupted when they heard whimpering and moaning coming from Lincoln's room. They all got mad, for they might have found out who had been responsible for these misdeeds. They marched up to the linen closet door, and Lori pounded on the door.

"Lincoln, come out of there! What's the idea of ripping up Lola's dolls?!"

They didn't get an answer.

"LINCOLN LOUD, ANSWER ME!"

Still nothing.

"That's it!"

She kicked the door open, and the girls marched inside and turned on the light.

"Alright, Lincoln, wait until Mom and Dad...!"

But then they got a good view of Lincoln, and they all gasped at the sight. Surrounded by fluff and rags and sewing equipment was somebody with messy white hair, unkempt clothing, and pink bloodshot eyes that appear to have been worn out from excessive crying. In his arms was a patchwork doll with two button eyes, a large gift of fluff sticking from its head, and it was wearing a diaper.

"Shhh! She's trying to sleep."

"Um, Lincoln," Lynn began to ask, "what's...that?"

Lincoln spoke in a jittery whisper. It was clear he wasn't all there at the moment.

"L-L-Lily. She's my Lily."

"Lincoln," said Luna, a little perturbed by the sight, "Lily's out with..."

"She's my _new_ Lily. One that will never grow up and be with me forever and ever."

The girls began to shake. Even Lucy.

"And you all call _me_ creepy."

"Lincoln," a worried Lori spoke, "can you just let me...hold Lily for one...?"

"NO," the boy screamed, making his sisters go stiff. "NONE OF YOU CAN EVER HOLD LILY! YOU DON'T HAVE WHAT WE HAVE!"

"This isn't funny, Lincoln," a frightened Luan said, "We just want to help you."

Lincoln suddenly made little "Wah-wah" noises.

"Now look what you did! You woke up Lily!"

As he stroked the patchwork Lily's stomach, he made "goo-goo" and "poo-poo" noises, and he manipulated the doll to hug him.

"Shh! Shh! It's okay, my little baby poo-poo Lily. I'll make the big bad monsters go away."

The girls looked at each other. They had to do something. Their brother has gone insane from the sudden lack of Lily love.

"Okay, Lincoln," Lori said, "we'll do as you say. We'll just back away, and—GRAB IT!"

Suddenly, the girls dogpiled on Lincoln and attempted to subdue him."

"I got it," Lana shouted as she made her way out of the ambush with the patchwork Lily in her hand.

"LILY!"

Lincoln escaped from the ambush and chased Lana down the hall to regain "his" Lily. As he neared, Lana prepared the doll for a throw.

"LYNN, GO LONG!"

She tossed the doll over Lincoln's head and into Lynn's hands. Lincoln turned and hissed like an animal, and he began to give chase to Lynn. As Luna ran past him, she encouraged Lynn to toss it to her. She did, and before Lincoln could turn, Lori and Leni apprehended him from behind."

"We hate to do this, Lincoln," Lori said with authority, "but it's for your own good."

"AAAAAHH!"

The crazed boy broke free from his eldest sisters' grasp and tried to run toward Luna. But she threw the doll over his head to Lisa, who tossed it over to Luan, who tried to toss it to Lynn again. But before Lynn could get it, Lincoln jumped in front of her and caught it.

"Shh! There-there, you're safe now."

But before he knew it, the girls tackled him and pinned him down, sending the doll flying out of his hands and in front of Charles, who seemed interested in this new toy. The pooch took it into his mouth, and he began to growl and chew.

 **"NOOOOO! MY LILY!** _ **MY LILY!**_ **"**

As the dog went to town on the patchwork doll, a rain of fluff came flying out of it. Lincoln watched those pieces of gentle fluff come floating down in front of him. He screamed bloody murder as he furiously tried to wrestle his way out from under his sisters' combined weights, but to no avail. Eventually, the dog stopped chewing, and he dropped what was left of the doll on the floor before making his way downstairs.

Lincoln finally made his way out from under his sisters and gathered scattered fluff that had been tossed around by his dog. After getting a few handfuls, he started putting them in the bag of rags that was once his stitched Lily.

"It's okay, Lily. Eveything's gonna be okay. Big brother's got you. I...I..."

He could no longer control himself, and he broke down sobbing. His sisters, feeling pity for their brother, and guilty about their own actions, crawled up to their brother and attempted to console him as best they could.

"Lincoln, we're sorry," said Lori, "but you have to understand. We love Lily, too."

"NO! You don't love Lily like I do!" Lincoln yelled as he clutched the mess of rags and fluff. "What we have is SPECIAL!"

"It's okay, bro," Luna said, trying her best to soothe her brother. "It's okay. She'll come back. There'll always be time for you to spend with her."

"No," Lincoln sniffed, "there won't. Lily's growing up. And now we can't do all the fun things we used to do. I won't be able to change her diaper. Or play peek-a-boo or horsey. I won't be able to feed her and do the airplane thing with her spoon. I won't be able to blow raspberries on her soft, warm belly. And I won't be able to pinch her little baby bubble butt anymore. It won't be cute, it'll be sick!"

Lincoln's voice began to get quieter.

"And...most of all...I won't...I won't 't able to hold her in my arms. Or whisper sweet lullabies. Or...watch her slumber peacefully. I love you, my dear, sweet Lily."

"Awwww," his sisters collectively said as Lori buried his head into her lap, even wiping his tears with her tank top.

"D-D...Do you remember...the day she was born?"

"Of course we do, Lincoln," Leni said. "You _hated_ her."

"Huh?"

"Yeah," said Luan, "don't you remember Lincoln? When Lily was born, you wanted nothing to do with her. You wanted a brother so bad, you couldn't stand it."

His sisters had reminded him of the entire rest of that day. He loved Lily so much, he buried the bad memories in his head. His crying began anew. Seeing him distressed, Lori glared at Leni and Luan, who put on sheepish grins of guilt. She then began to stroke her brother's white hair in an effort to calm him down.

"It's okay. It's okay. You have nothing to be ashamed about"

As she tried to qualm this sorry sight, a thought came to her.

"Do you want me to tell you a story? It's about how one special baby girl brought us all together."

After a long pause, Lori heard what sounded like a muffled "Uh-huh" from her lap. She brought her sisters into a circle so they can be enchanted as well by this tale.

"Now, once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a house with nine sisters. And while he loved them all, and despite the large amount of girls, he sometimes felt just a little bit lonely. He saw how his big sisters bonded so well with his little sisters, and he felt that he should have a brother to love and play with. Eventually, the boy's parents told him that they were having another baby, and he got excited. Could his dream of a baby brother finally come true? As the months went by, the boy learned all there was to know about taking care of his maybe-brother. He learned how to cradle and rock a baby, change its diaper, feed it, help it burp, and more. He even became his oldest sister's assistant at her babysitting job. He also gathered up lots of boy stuff for his maybe-brother, including sports equipment and hundreds of comic books to read together, and as the big day got closer, the boy's anticipation grew. Finally, the big day arrived, one rainy day in April, and the boy...Well, he got a rather unpleasant surprise."


	4. Chapter 4

It was porting outside that April evening. With their parents at the hospital bringing their latest child into the world, eldest sibling Lori was in charge of watching over the other nine. It had been five hours since their mother's water broke and their father rushed her to the hospital. He had told the kids he would call them as soon as he could, and all of them were waiting anxiously around the house phone for any updates.

So far, there were none, and most of them were worried about the condition of their mother and the child she was carrying. But not Lincoln. He had been waiting impatiently for the arrival of what he was hoping to be a boy, and now it was almost here.

"When is he gonna call?" asked an impatient Lola.

"Be patient," Lori said, "Mom needs all the help she can get. It takes time for a baby to come out."

"I'm just worried about the baby that's all," Lola said defensively.

"Ooh," moaned Leni, "the wait is killing me! I just can't wait to see her!"

"Who said it's gonna be a her?" Lincoln asked in a smug tone.

"Ugh, there you go again," Lori said in annoyance. "For the last time, there's 50% chance it'll be a girl, too."

"Maybe so, but I'm feeling lucky. Finally, a guy who can like the things I like, that I can teach boy things to."

Suddenly, the phone rang. All the sisters jumped in surprise.

"IT'S DAD!"

Lori hurriedly picked it up from the receiver, and put it on speaker so that all can hear.

"Dad? Dad?! What's going on?! Is Mom okay?! Is the baby alright?!"

"Kids, kids, relax! Everything's fine! She came out just fine."

The girls' eyes lit up. Lincoln's did too, but for a different reason.

"Wait. W...W-What do you mean... _she_?"

"I meant _she_. You've all got a new baby _sister_."

The girls all got up and cheered like their favorite team had won the Super Bowl.

"YEEEEEAHH! SISTER NUMBER TEN! SISTER NUMBER TEN!", they all chanted in unison.

But Lincoln, he just stared off into space as he tried to comprehend the information that he had just heard. Months of optimism and excitement were gone in a flash. He felt like he had been shot in the gut. A sister, not a brother. After half a minute, the girls took a breather from cheering and took notice of their brother's reaction.

"Lincoln," asked Lynn, "are...you alright?"

Her brother began to hyperventilate. This was the start of a breakdown.

"We're so sorry, Lincoln," said a sympathetic Luna. "We know how much you wanted a..."

Before she could finish, Lincoln screamed like a banshee and ran like Hell up the stairs and into his dark room. When he got there, he went into his bed, covered himself with his blanket, and planted his face into his pillow, where he sobbed uncontrollably.

"It's not fair...It's not fair...It's not fair..."

He never felt more alone in the world.

* * *

Back in the present day, Lincoln was crying muffled cries into Lori's lap as those painful memories returned to him. Somewhere deep down, he still wanted a boy to love. Some of his sisters were beginning to cry as well from the story.

"My heart, dude," sniffled Luna. "You took it and threw it on the ground."

Leni's eyes had tears flooding down from them. "That was such a downer ending."

"Relax, Leni," said Lori, "It's not over yet. You were there. Things got better...in a way."

"So tell us what happened," demanded Lucy, who spoke in her usual monotone tone despite her mascara running.

Lori repositioned herself to make herself more comfortable, and she resumed stroking Lincoln's hair while his face remained buried in her lap. She waited until his sobs died down before she continued telling her tale.

"Okay. Now, while the baby was getting cleaned up, and her mother was getting some well-earned rest, her father went back home to pick his children up, and he brought them to the hospital to meet the new arrival. When her sisters saw her, they gasped in awe and excitement, unable to take how adorable she was. But somebody wasn't in the mood for celebrating..."


	5. Chapter 5

The cold, rainy weather outside and the soft, dim lighting inside made for a peaceful environment for Mrs. Loud to cradle her sleeping newborn. Her other daughters were gathered around the bed, ordered by their father to speak low lest they wake the babe, and they were enchanted by the sight of this new addition to the family. They whispered congratulations to their mother and comments to each other about the bundle in her arms.

"She's absolutely adorable," Leni said, "I need to touch her."

"Not yet, Leni," replied her mother.

Lynn asked Lucy next to her, "Ain't she wonderful, Luc?"

"Just like an angel come to Earth,"

As this little celebration went on, Luna began to notice that somebody was not there to join them. She looked around, finding all her siblings in the circle...except Lincoln. She quietly slipped out of the circle to look for him, and she found him on a chair in a dark corner of the room, his back turned and hunched, moping to himself.

"Lincoln?" she asked as she slowly walked toward him. "Don't you want to meet baby Lilian?"

Lincoln shuddered at the very mention of a _girl's_ name.

"Look, I know you're disappointed, but could you please just look at her?"

"Why?!" he said as he shot out of his hunched position. "Why should I look at a girl when I live in a house full of them?!"

Some of the other girls turned their heads toward the scene their brother was making.

"Shhhh," Luna whispered frantically, "keep it down! You'll wake her!"

"No, _why?!_ Why can't we have another BOY for a change?! Why am I CURSED to have only sisters?! WHAT DID I _DO_ TO DESERVE THIS?!"

The baby began to whimper upon hearing the loud rants of her tormented brother. While her mother attempted to calm her down, all the girls, plus their father, turned toward the scene. Lincoln was fuming, his face all red and sweaty, his eyes teary, and his nose beginning to run. Within a few seconds, he collapsed to his knees, then his body was flat on the floor.

"I feel so alone..."

Lincoln started to sob loudly, barely able to hold it in anymore. His father prepared to step in and give a piece of his mind for giving the newborn a rude awakening, but Lori stopped him.

"Dad...I think we got this."

"Well, you better..."

And with that, he went back to tend to his wife and youngest child. Lori led the girls to Lincoln, and slowly, they sat around him in a circle. Lincoln felt himself being picked up by his sisters and given a soft group hug. Right now, they had one mission: to make their brother smile again.

"Lincoln," Lori began, "it's okay. We know how you feel."

He sniffed. "No! You don't!"

"Yeah, we do," said Leni. "We remember when _you_ were born. We were all a little mad that we got a boy instead of a girl."

"Yeah, dude," said Luna, "but we learned to accept you for who you were."

"And you ended up bringing so much joy and laughter into our lives," said Luan.

"In fact," started Lynn, "whenever a new Loud was born, she would affect us all in a lot of ways."

"It may be scary sometimes," said Lucy.

"And messy," added Lana.

"And a little crazy," added Lola.

"But the important thing is," began Lisa, "that we're there for her, and for each other, when we need it to be."

"So come on, Lincoln," begged Lori, "Please, _please_ , just give her a chance."

"She has entered a world far bigger and colder than the one she's always known," said Lucy. "She could use a warm welcome."

Lincoln was still pretty burned out from this little ordeal, and his face was frozen in a state of seen-it-all indifference. After a moment, he said from under his breath...

"...Fine."

His sisters helped him up, and they slowly walked over to their mother's bed. They tried to give him words of encouragement, but it appeared that he couldn't care less.

"She has _my_ eyes," said Lola.

"You don't say," replied Lincoln in a bored monotone.

"She's a healthy-looking specimen," said Lisa, "if I do say so myself."

"Get outta here."

"Okay, Mom," Lori said to her mother, "I think he's ready."

They gently propped Lincoln onto the foot of the bed as his mother whispered comforting words to her baby.

Lincoln gave a defeated sigh. "Hoorah."

He focused on the bundle, and his eyes suddenly shot open. As his mother unwrapped the blanket covering the babe, he got a good look at what was in her arms: a tiny newborn with, large eyes, rosy pink cheeks, a puny body, and chubby little arms and legs.

"She's...beautiful..."

She opened her eyes slowly to get a look at the amazed face staring at her. She liked him already, and she managed to make a tiny smile. Then, almost uncontrollably, Lincoln began to point his finger at the babe, and she managed to grasp his finger.

"That-a boy," Luna whispered with satisfaction.

A tingle went through his whole body, and he soon got the urge to ask...

"Can I...hold...her?"

"Okay, but be very careful."

"I will."

His mother slowly and gently placed the bundle in Lincoln's arms. He began to toy with this new addition to his life. He stroked his finger against her puny belly, and she made short, squeaky coos as he did. He then felt her soft, warm cheeks, and he examined the texture of her almost invisible hair.

"What was her name again?"

"Lilian," his mother answered.

As Lincoln let the name sink in, he looked down at the babe in his arms. She was yawning, preparing to go to sleep again. His curious expression slowly grew into a large, unstable one, and small tears began to form.

"Hey...Lily...I'm your big brother, Lincoln. We're going to have so much of fun together. We'll go everywhere, and do everything...and I know that you're going to grow into something absolutely wonderful. And I'm _always_ going to be there for you. I love you, Lilian."

And with that, he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on her little forehead, and he handed her back to her mother. Lincoln was now happy. Right now, it didn't matter whether his new sibling was a boy or a girl; all that mattered was that it loved him.

The girls surrounded their brother, proud that he had finally learned to open his heart, and gave him a soft group hug that seemed to unite them as a family. Their parents looked on at the sight, and they gave each other an affectionate kiss.

* * *

"And the boy, who didn't want anything to do with her, ended being the one who loved her the most. And true to his word, he made sure he would always be there for her. And as the days went by, the two siblings created many happy memories for each other.

Suddenly, a flood of those memories returned to Lincoln. It started with the day Lily came home.

"Lilian Loud, welcome to the Loud House."

He remembered introducing his baby sister to the crib that she was to sleep in. Lincoln wanted to make sure that Lily felt at home, and so he slept by her crib for the next week so he could be there for her at a moment's notice.

He remembered the times he got her into a comfortable potion within his arms and fed her. Making sure her milk was just the right temperature, he would hold it so that her lips were around the nipple and that the nutritious liquid trickled down her throat slowly so as to not make her choke. And after it was all gone, Lincoln would gently pat her back to help her burp. Finally, he would slowly rock her while he whispered a soft lullaby until she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He was there for her when she started teething. She was in unspeakable pain from that first tooth puncturing her gums, but he helped her through it all; first with his fingers, then with some plastic rings. There was some blood involved, for both parties, but Lincoln believed it was worth it.

The holidays began coming to him too. For Lily's first Halloween, she was a little squirrel rested beside a big acorn pillow.

One of Lincoln's favorite memories came when a loud thunderstorm woke Lily with a fright. She screamed and cried, thinking that she was in a nightmare, but her big brother came to her rescue. He fed her some warm milk, rocked her to sleep, and pulled an all-nighter on the couch to make sure she slept peacefully through the night.

And then there was her first Christmas. Lincoln saved up his allowance to give her a soft, cuddly, lavender blankie as her first present. She loved it right away, and she could never thank her brother enough.

Their little playtimes also came to mind. Games of "peek-a-boo" brought giggles, "horsey" rides on Lincoln's knees brought Lily excitement, and marathon raspberry sessions brought insane, red-faced laughter to both their faces.

Then, too, came their journeys outside the house, like her first trip to the zoo. He remembered telling Lily all about the animals who lived there, and he even imitated some of them to amuse her. She giggled at her big brother's antics, which pleased him so.

And on her first birthday, ironically enough, it was Lincoln who received a gift. After learning to blow her candle out, and then smearing chocolate cake all over her face, Lily took her monumental first steps toward her big brother in the backyard. When she reached him, they embraced in a long hug, with a happy tear or two running down his face.

Finally, there came the naps they shared together after long days of work and play, where they could feel each other's heartbeats as they lied close to one another. Every time they slept, Lincoln felt a sense of nothing-will-ever-change security, and every good thing that happened between them was in accordance with his personal mission: if she was happy, he was happy.


	6. Chapter 6 and Epilogue

After telling this special episode of their lives, the girls felt nostalgic and decided to look through Lily's baby book. There were all kinds of pictures of her. There were a few sonogram pictures of her growing inside her mother. There were a few from shortly after her birth, where the family hired a professional photographer to take pictures of her sleeping on soft blankets. There were those from holidays, like Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. And a few from her first birthday. And everything in between.

"Look," said Leni as the pointed to a picture, "there's her first sand castle!"

Luna pointer to another picture. "And her toy piano. She really beat those plastic ivories."

The girls were having a fun time looking through this visual biography of their youngest sister, but Lincoln was still a little glum. Finally, Lana spoke.

"I still don't get it, Lincoln. How come you hated her at first, and then you suddenly loved her?"

Lincoln sighed. "I don't know. When I saw her, I just...felt something inside of me. When...she looked at me, I felt...I felt that...I had someone who wanted to be with me. I felt... _needed_."

"Aww, don't feel bad, Lincoln," Luan said. "Think of it this way: Lily needed you as much as you needed her. You were her first friend."

"Yeah," said Lynn. "you took that sleepy little gremlin and helped turn her into a giggling ball of sunshine."

Lori then spoke. "And you're right about one thing: Lily _is_ special. She's literally full of love and life, she helped you learn to be more open and accepting, and the day we all met her, we all came together like never before. You made a promise to always be there for her, and you more than made good on it."

"Thanks for the compliments, guys," Lincoln said in a disinterested tone. He then asked, with a hint of fear, "But does Lily love me _now_?"

"Well, bro," Luna said with a heavy head, "that's for her to decide."

Suddenly, the front door opened.

"Kids, we're home!"

"Come here and meet the new Lily!"

The girls got off the couch and clamored as they got to the door. Lincoln wasn't in the mood, so he didn't come with them. From what he was hearing, the girls were liking what they saw. After a few moments, Lincoln felt his father's hand on his shoulder.

"Lincoln, don't you want to see Lily?"

"I think the real question is...Does Lily want to see me?"

"Does she?! Lincoln, she's been anxious to see you all day!"

"She...She has?!"

With that revelation, Lincoln shot up from the couch and ran toward the front door, telling his sisters to move out of the way so he can see. What he saw was breathtaking. There before him was a toddler with a puffy little tuft of blonde hair. She was wearing a lavender t-shirt, blue pants, a puffy pink tutu, and a headband with a big white flower on it.

"She's...beautiful..."

The toddler looked up at him, and he was struck stiff over this creature that looked so alien, yet somehow familiar,.

"L...Lily?"

The toddler jumped up and down, making an excited, high-pitched squeal as she did, and ran toward her brother. She jumped on him and pinned him down on the floor, where she hugged him and kissed his face so thoroughly.

And then she spoke.

"I love you, Lincoln!"

Those words. The four words he had longed to hear from her were finally said. His eyes started to well, then started to leak. He sat up, and he put his baby sister in a soft, tight embrace.

"I...love you, too...Lily. I love you so much!"

Lincoln continued to cry. But these tears were now happy tears, because Lincoln was now reunited with his beloved baby sister. And he discovered one of the upsides of her maturity into a big girl: she was now able to make it clear how much she depended on, and how much she loved, her big brother. Their sisters and parents looked down on the sight with smiles, some of them getting teary-eyed themselves. This was a rare day when it seemed that the family was more united than ever before.

* * *

The next Sunday, with _Poppyseed Avenue_ on the air, Lincoln watched from the couch as a gaggle of babies crawled and teetered about on the floor in front of him. His parents had decided to hold Lily's next playdate at their house, and Lincoln volunteered to help keep watch over Lily and her baby friends. As he watched her enjoy herself at play, he couldn't help but think about what lied ahead for her.

"You know, this past week has been an exciting one for me. It gave me the chance to get to know Lily all over again. Sure, there are some things we won't be doing anymore, but some things will never change, like our love for each other. But no matter how much she grows, Lily will always be my baby sister. Besides, there'll always be fun, new things for us to do, and fun, new things for me to teach her."

He sniffed a familiar stench.

"AUGH! Starting with potty training!"

"Poo-poo!"


End file.
